ArthurY

I can't say it enough ... keeping the Wankel at 5K RPM on the freeway makes it feels like you're flying a jet. Just one tiny tap and you'll leave whatever that was beside you dwindling in the rear-view mirror. It was almost instant response and the rotary just Wankel away.

I have never had this feeling with any sports sedan I've driven before. Can anyone verify the range of the sweet spot for the Renesis?

NgoRX8

iTrader: (1)

haha. pleasure at 5k.
orgasm at 9k!!!

sorry, i just had to say that. haha

BlueSky

5k in what gear? 4th I'm guessing.

Nopstnz

Ahh man I totally agree with you. But I like to keep it at around 7 when having some fun. Like tonight I went for a drive down a super twisty road. AHHHH sooooo much fun. Keeping it in third between 55-80 mph the whole way... soooo much fun. Ripping through those corners at 60 is just a walk in the park for the 8 while others can barely take them at 45. Haha, I always appreciate the 8 so much more after I take it through some twisties. GOD I LOVE THIS CAR!!!! SO much more fun than some huge engine straight line car IMO.

Nopstnz

^^^ yay my 200th post. Now 201

ArthurY

I don't recall now ... but it's some where there: either 3rd or 4th.

ArthurY

Totally agree with you! Experiencing straight-line acceleration is one thing but experiencing lateral G-force takes you into another dimension.

BlueSky

Jeezus, 3rd gear? What do you guys get, 11mpg?!

Today I went to run some errands, I'd be throwing it into 6th at 40mph on city roads, shifting up every gear at around 3k-3.5k rpms. From a stop I usually rev to about 1750rpms and then delicately let the clutch out and then give more gas. On the highways I always have the thing in 6th, unless I'm in traffic of course.

BlueSky

Yeah, I took the car at around 45mph around one of those almost full-circle highway on-ramps/entrances. You know the onces that feel like they go on forever before you get on the highway. This one was very small and tight.. Anyway, I had to brace myself up against the door with my left knee. I kept waiting to feel the car begin to slide but it never happened.

Stavesacre21

for normal highway driving 6th is obviously the best choice. However, the rotary can definetely endure higher RPMs for longer periods of time. Like they said...usually MPG isn't a concern, and having the power available after 6K makes it A LOT more exciting if your up for some spirited driving!

I swap back and forth depending on mood though. Sometimes I keep it below about 3.5K in town to save gas (averaging about 19 in town), but when you really wanna get and go, the undeniable excitement underlying those high revs can be hard to keep off.

The engine is made to tolerate the high rev's without any damage potential, so why not enjoy it from time to time!

Ike

Raptor2k

40mph in 6th gear bogs down the engine. You're better off in 4th or 5th (in terms of MPG and carbon build up) when cruising at 40ish.

BlueSky

Really? I thought the lower the RPMs the better the MPG.

Also, I read that I can hit 65mph in 2nd. I always panic when I hit the beep and shift right away and hit around 63mph. Is it ok to stay on the beep for a few seconds?

BoosTED

iTrader: (2)

That is exactly when I notice the Zeta Products door and console knee pads

'cept more in the 50-60mph it is like a dangerous drug that feeling...

Fun getting a reaction from the passenger as they don't have the tucked in feeling the driver gets.

Crazy Rx-8 Driver

Only bog's in 6th at 40mph if you go WOT. if you are just cruising giving it a little bit of gas.. its just like driving an automatic..what does an auto do on the freeway? it upshifts and eventually cruises in its highest gear... same thing with the manual.

if you are going to go WOT, you downshift so you wont bog.. i think most people know that.

Rena my Rx8

i jus cant help loving 9 thousand rpm to use. i totally zone out and jus take in the sound wen i smash it... i ****** love this car. and yes those g force turns feel so good hahaha i ono, i jus really love my car. its like whlie u smash, i always think about at 6 or 7 is wen another car usually redlines, hahaha and i got 3-4 more thousand to go ahahaha

Crazy Rx-8 Driver

Oh yea! you know it! on the way home from shakopee i took the 8 down some nice twisties off a road from 169 there... fun times fun times...

Raptor2k

Yeah, I usually shift around 9300ish.

BlueSky

God I need to find some good driving roads in orange county. The people who live here are such stuck-up, conservative, and joyless. They don't want anyone to have fun. If a road turns out to be a good driving road they either have stop signs put in at ever T-intersection or they put a few speed bumps.

Raptor2k

The rotors need to spin, keeping it at around 2.5k-3k RPMs has given people the best gas mileage. If it was about the highest gear, why not cruise at 30 in 6th? You also want your engine to last, and that won't be by babying it.

Stavesacre21

The part that always astounded me about the rotary as opposed to the typical piston analogy was that all your life you've heard that riding high in the RPM's will wear your engine sooo much faster. Trying to swallow the idea that righer RPM's are better for an engine then low RPM's really does require a whole different mindset...just like this car does.

ArthurY

Isn't there a Highway 101 or Hwy-1 in your neck of the woods? That'll be a super drive on an early Sat/Sun morning with a Passport/Escort.

Crazy Rx-8 Driver

but you're not on the freeway are you? are you following this thread? i thought we were talking about on the freeway driving and being in 6th.


at 30mph and in stop and go, you'd be in 3rd at 3K rpm. 6th gear at 30mph would definately bog the engine, since you'd be in 1.5rpms. In an auto at that speed you'd be in 3rd gear out of 4 anyways, or atleast on my honda it wouldnt let it go into 4th gear. I've always kept it at around 3k when driving the 8 anyways...

sooo what's the point of this discussion again? i'm losing track...

Raptor2k

I know this thread is about freeway driving, I only replied to BlueSky's line:

^that's lower than 2k, iirc.

BoosTED

iTrader: (2)

Cool! Hope to see you on Saturday for some more driving... if you haven't seen yet check www.mnrx8club.com.


Don't think I would drive below 45mph in 6th gear. Doesn't make the engine happy...